ABSTRACT
The South American continent counted its share of caudillos, and they proved to be just as versatile, colorful, and dictatorial as their northern counterparts. Caudillos could be identified in almost every region of Latin America after independence, this chapter focuses on three leaders: Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia in Paraguay, Juan Manuel de Rosas in Argentina, and Antonio Guzman Blanco in Venezuela. The opposition party, the Unitarians or “Unitarios,” called for a strong central government radiating out from Buenos Aires, run by the aristocracy. Rosas’s rule, to the complete exclusion of Unitarians, was brutal, and his authority even extended over the Roman Catholic Church. One feature common to all caudillos in nineteenth-century Latin America was a complete lack of democratic procedure, or even the pretense of democratic practice. The 300-year colonial model of hierarchy, and adherence to authority left a lasting legacy in Latin America.
